Expert: Jessica - 9/3/2011

Question
We have 5 year old bengal sisters. One (the smaller of the two) has always been quite dominant. Approx 6 months ago, the cats began urinating all over the house. We have 3 litter boxes and separate feeding stations, we use Feliway, both the pump and the spray. Both have been to the vets for blood tests and to check for urinary tract infections. No problems were detected. We are at our wits end now and even though we love them very much, we cannot cope with the constant clean up damage to flooring and odor and are contemplating giving them to a shelter.  Do you have any suggestions. We wonder if they are naturally incompatible being such a territorial breed......

Answer
Hi Pete,

Sorry to hear you're having such a problem. I haven't found that Bengals are incompatible cats in general, although if you're seeing that either of the cats are aggressive, this can certainly be the cause of the litter issues. As long as your girls don't have any wild blood left in them, and most Bengals today don't, they shouldn't really be any more territorial than the next house cat.

As the cats are 5 years old, and the behavior only started recently, I think there must have been a definite trigger. Cats are so sensitive that we can easily miss what the trigger was, but there was very likely some kind of stressor or change in the home - vacation, a change in work schedule, construction going on outside, new furniture, etc. Whatever happened, I think you may need to consider placing both cats on an antidepressant for a few weeks and see if the behavior improves. If they start to show improvement, I encourage you to continue treatment for a few months. Most cats can then be tapered off the medication and discontinue treatment without having a relapse of the behavior. The most effective treatment for this type of behavior is fluoxetine, with clomipramine coming in second. Some cats also respond to amitriptyline, buspirone or even diazepam.

I would also recommend that you try a training litter such as Cat Attract. This was formulated by a vet to help cats who aren't using the box start using it consistently once again. It uses an herbal attractant. I'm not sure if this is available in British Columbia, but if not, you can order just the herbal attractant online and add it to your own unscented clumping litter. See http://www.entirelypets.com/catattract.html

I also recommend that you place the litter boxes in different areas of the house if you have not done so. If territory or dominance issues are the problem, the cats may feel threatened while using the box in one area. Giving them more than one location to choose from might help.

Additionally, I have found that my own Bengals are extra meticulous about litter box cleanliness, so be sure to scoop the litter boxes at least twice daily, and completely empty them and wash them once every week or two, depending on the type of litter you use.

Good luck!

Jessica